Open Access

Elke HemmingerORCiD

• This chapter presents findings on online game and fan communities that were obtained from case studies, a field study, and in-depth interviews based on the concepts of situated learning and communities of practice (CoPs). By analyzing online communities as CoPs and focusing on social interaction and the construction of social reality, the chapter contributes to a better understanding of informal learning in the context of digital cultures. The term "community of practice" attempts to describe and explain social learning processes and sociocultural practices within a group of people who are informally bound to one another by a common set of problems and a shared search for solutions. In pursuit of these shared interests, the members of the group employ common tools, work with common practices, and use a common language. The idea that learning is a social process that is not necessarily the result of teaching, but rather of our experience of participating in daily life, can provide a new perspective on online cultures that understands them as engaged in producing knowledge, meaning, and identity.